Some thoughts:

> Say that Fred_1 is from Pittsburgh. So he puts his base there (any number of bases can be
> in a city).

Okay, so suppose I bomb Pittsburgh five times. Fred_1 becomes my vassal -- but what about everyone else who has a base in Pittsburgh? Do they become vassals as well?

Suggestion: You can communicate person-to-person with allies, but messages to non-allies have to be made to the city at large: "People of Pittsburgh! One-time-only special offer! Join my alliance and avoid destruction!"

Hmm. This adds a new dimension.
Suppose I'm in Pittsburgh, and I know that Fred_1 is also in Pittsburgh, and we get an offer from Joe_Schmoe.
Suppose further that I don't want to ally with Joe_Schmoe. If I say "No" but Fred_1 says "Yes", Joe_Schmoe can't touch me, because he's not allowed to bomb cities with allies in them. On the other hand, I have no idea what Fred_1 will say, and if he also says "No", we're both in trouble.

Except that we're not, because it'll be two of us against one of Joe_Schmoe. (Who gets to keep Joe_Schmoe? The guy who happens to get the killing shot in?)

And what happens if I want Fred_1 as an ally? I can't threaten to bomb him, because he's in the same city as me.

I think that, on the whole, it's best to have a one city one secret base rule.


[later]

> You send a message to Joe_Schmoe via the National Message System (he'll see it next time
> he logs on) saying "Join my alliance or I will bomb you."

> Joe_Schmoe doesn't like Pittsburgh, so he replies "No". When you get his No, you will see
> a big button reading "BOMB!" Click it, and a high-powered bomb will hit Joe-Schmoe's
> headquarters.
> Joe_Schmoe, learning of this, will retaliate, and the first person to be hit 5 times (since
> he was hit first, Joe_Schmoe) is forced to surrender. Joe_Schmoe becomes part of your
> alliance.

Others have already commented on the unfairness of this.
In addition to giving Joe_Schmoe a chance to win the bombing contest, I suggest that there should be incentives for replying "Yes" in the first place.

Sample incentive:
If you say "No" to an alliance offer, then get bombed into submission, you have to do what you're told, etc., as outlined.
If, however, you say "Yes", you become an equal partner - you don't *have* to bomb your allies targets, and you can leave any time you want (at the risk of being bombed into submission, of course).

Which brings up the question of how many moves you can make in a single turn. If you can leave an alliance and, in the same turn, instigate a bombing campaign against your former ally, it's a different game to if you have to wait a while after leaving, hoping against hope that your former ally won't notice you've gone until it's too late.


[later]

> So, the entire alliance bombs your headquarters in Pittsburgh at the same time. You are hit
> five times. Unfortunately, you are now part of the big alliance - as are Joe_Schmoe and
> John_Smith.

If you take your vassals with you when you become a vassal, that makes it easy to conquer an entire alliance by targetting the player at the top of the chain of command. (If the equal-partner rule gets in, it won't be as bad, but it'll still be bad.)

And a related question: What relation do I have to allies of allies? Obviously we can't bomb each other, but beyond that?
If I ally with someone, can I boss around anyone he's bombed into submission? (Suggested answer: No. I can get his help, but whether he tells his subjugates to help too is up to him.) Will I even be told who his allies and subjugates are?
If I bomb someone into submission, do I get to boss his subjugates around directly, or only through him? Can I order him to order them to do something, or am I restricted to ordering him to do something and asking him to order them to help? What is my relationship to any equal partners he has? (Suggested answer: If a player is bombed into submission, all his equal partners are let loose, possibly with an offer to become an equal partner of the successful bomber. Maybe this should be extended to a rule that subjugates don't have subjugates.)